Kai Ruppert1, Yulin Chang1, Talissa A. Altes1, Isabel M. Dregely2, Stephen Ketel3, Iulian C. Ruset2,3, Jaime F. Mata1, F William Hersman2,3, John P. Mugler III1
1Radiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA; 2Physics, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA; 3Xemed LLC, Durham, NH, USA
Hyperpolarized xenon-129 spectroscopy has revealed at least two dissolved-phase compartments in the lung: xenon bound to hemoglobin and xenon dissolved in lung tissue and blood plasma. In this work we demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining gas-phase depolarization maps in humans using Xenon polarization Transfer Contrast (XTC) MRI by selectively inverting the magnetization in one of the two compartments. Preliminary results at 1.5T and 3T are presented. These findings will considerably increase the specificity of XTC MRI for the detection of pathological lung function changes.